Gillespie Wanders
The Gillespie Wanders are an nomadic group of multiple ethnic backgrounds who live a spaceborne lifestyle, making use of a myriad of vessels ranging from immense freighters to small one person crafts to move all across known space. They are also known as Gillespites or Dust Gypsies. History Origins Though the Gillespie Wanders are descended from nearly hundreds of different backgrounds, they can directly traces their uniting of their ethnic origins and ideological birth to one defining event. During the Sol Gamma Wave of 2601, nearly thousands of ships packed with refugees fled the disaster zone. Few of those that fled the disaster were from the Core Colonies, being most were tragically ignorant of the disaster until the final moments. The bulk of those fleeing were from the Outer Colonies. As such few Dust Gypsies trace their lineage back to the Core Colonies or even in rare cases to Earth. Most refugees fleeing found safety on the numerous colonies of the Frontier that could take them in. However some worlds, fearing being overwhelmed by larger refugee populations or had been isolationist before the disaster, refused them landing rights and even reacted violently to the intrusion. A freighter convoy fleeing Wimer with 80,000 refugees and 11 vessels attempted seek sanctuary at the colony Barcynski but when the colonial government refused them. Captain David DeFabis believed the government was bluff and took two of his transports, the EFMS Krivozus and EFMS Kacala to attempted to force a landing. Defense ships from the Barcynski Navy opened fired upon the ships and destroyed, killing 11,000 civilians and DeFabis. Captain Michael Irwin took command of the convoy from his transport the EFMS Gillespi and pulled out of the system. Attempts to seek refuge in the Osirak, Dulles, Calaveras and Laurel ended by 2605 with similar results. By this period Irwin' freighter convoy had merged with four other convoys and groups who had also faced similar reprisals, increasing their population to nearly 178,000 individuals and 43 crafts. Due to lowering tensions among the worlds of the Frontier, the convoy was offered sanctuary by Potsdam but Irwin quickly deduced that General Adam Claire, who had recently launched a coupe to take control of the colony, instead wanted to convert the convoy's vessels into warships and use its people as slave crews to use against the rising conflict with the Republic of the Manhattan. Irwin removed the fleet from the system but this time set course for the Ang Mo Kio Nebula instead of a populated world. These events along with the developing self-sufficiency of the fleet caused Captain Irwin to support the adoption of a nomadic lifestyle, never lingering at nearby worlds and to remain mobile and independent of planetary settlement. Surprising his vote was met with surprising approval and the people of the fleet took the name Gillespie Wanders or Gillespites, named after Irwin's flagship the EFMS Gillespie. Modern History Culture Many Gillespie Wanders traditionally have a Secmat (a degraded pronunciation of the term Second Mate) and this is a sacred position to the Gillespites. The Secmat role focuses on creating the ship's passage plans. A passage plan is a comprehensive, step by step description of how the voyage is to proceed from berth to berth. The plan includes cargo/supply manifest, fueling requirements, undocking, departure, the enroute portion of a voyage, approach, and mooring at the destination. Normally most ships have one Secmat with three to four apprentices, however larger ships, such as the Green Bulbs or Home Ships can carry dozens. Split Space Among the Gillespie Wanders in particular, split space is not seen as a dimension that received no energy or matter from the Big Bang, but instead a universe where the Big Bang has not occurred yet. As such all entrance to the realm affect the eventual Big Bang to come, as energy or matter lost in split space will contribute to this event. For the Gillespite, an offering of matter or energy is common when entering split space. Those that have passed away or died are also stored abroad a Funeral Ship and in a once yearly ceremony, the vessel is towed into split space and destroyed, thereby adding to the eventual birth of a new universe. This act is seen as a great honor by the Gillespites and recovery along with preservation of a dead body is very important to a family to complete the ritual. Gillespites are also noted for their exceptional endurance rates in split space, with physical adaptations that enable them to avoid the resulting exhaustion and last longer in split space. As a result, a normal Human body can last a week in split space before complete exhaustion and three days is the norm for travel, with one day of rest and recovery, yet Gillespie Wanders tend to spend a week in split space before a break of only half a day. Some Gillespie Wanders intentionally take extended voyages in the realm to drive themselves to the point of collapse, in order to facilitate their longer excursions in split space. Most Gillespie Wanders do not live longer than 80-years, while the average Human lifespan is close to 100 to 130-years. Births are also encouraged in split space and many expecting mothers take voyages intentionally to increase the likelihood of its occurrence. Planet-Bound The Gillespie Wanders call those that choose to settle colonies Planet-Bound or stations as Station-Bound. Category:Governments Category:Nations Category:Gillespie Wanders